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Do London Differently by London National Park City
Do London Differently by London National Park City
Author: Rangers
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© 2026 Do London Differently by London National Park City
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Do London Differently is a podcast series hosted by London National Park City Ranger Emily Langston and produced by Michael Shilling.
Have have relaunched in 2025 with a new format - sharing how Londoners are making the city Greener, Healthier and Wilder.
46 Episodes
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Football is community, identity, ritual, and emotion at scale. It also has a footprint, from travel to sponsorship to tournament design. Recorded live at Nature of Things, A Salon for the curious mind, this episode is a practical, honest Q&A between Lola May (Paddington Development Trust) and Dan Hall (Football for Future) on what “sustainable football” could actually look like, and how fans, clubs, and players can help shift the game. IN THIS EPISODE - The projects that inspired Dan mos...
Football is the world’s biggest cultural language, and climate change is the biggest challenge we face. In this live Nature of Things salon (Paddington Development Trust), Dan Hall, Communications Manager at Football for Future, explores what happens when those two worlds collide. Dan shares why football is such a powerful place to shift attitudes, how extreme weather is already disrupting matches and grassroots pitches, and how football itself contributes to emissions through travel, infrast...
London isn’t just a city with parks, it’s a city that is wild. In this episode of Do London Differently, host Michael Shilling is joined by Kassondra Cloos, author of An Opinionated Guide to Wild London, published by Hoxton Mini Press. We talk about the hidden places that make you feel miles from the capital without ever leaving it, from reed beds behind King’s Cross to wetlands near The O2. We also get into the bigger picture, how brownfield sites become brilliant habitats, why walking cul...
In this episode, we hear from Aneel, a member of Heston Action Group, volunteer at Heston Community Garden, and National Park City Ranger. He talks about being there from the early days of the garden, helping create its wildlife pond, and seeing it become home to newts and other species. Aneel also shares the story behind Moth Night, an event designed to bring people into the garden and help them learn about local wildlife, sometimes without even realising it. It is a conversation about curio...
Put your earphones on, step outside, and notice what most people glide past: who can actually get here. In this interview, I’m joined by Hounslow Ranger Tarek Mrad, who’s delivering a clear message: accessibility has to be built, not just said. Tarek shares why many green spaces still aren’t properly wheelchair accessible, why transport is often the biggest barrier (sometimes starting at the bus stop), and what his survey revealed about everyday access challenges in Hounslow. We also talk abo...
London gets reimagined as a virtual orchard stitched together by back gardens, street trees, parks, and the people willing to show up with a long pole and a tarpaulin. You’ll hear how the Kensal to Kilburn Fruit Harvesters built a pickers list, gained access to hundreds of local gardens, and turned seasonal harvests into community benefit, from food bank donations to juice pressing, jam making, chutney workshops, and even school enterprise projects. (Brent Council) Alongside that, Fruity Walk...
Ranger Emily joins members of RSPB Croydon for a birdwatching walk in Happy Valley and Farthing Downs in South Croydon. We spot and hear a whole range of birds, including redwings, gold crests, kites, and long-tailed tits, and learn about why citizen science is so crucial for tracking patterns in bird numbers. You can be a citizen scientist too by taking part in the RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch on 23-25 January - all it takes is an hour of your weekend. Sign up and get an info pack at rspb.org....
Is Paris really a benchmark for cycling? At the end of last year I joined MPs, peers and cycling leaders on an All Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking day trip to Paris. I wasn’t there as a lobbyist, or as London National Park City, but as the videographer and photographer, capturing a two dozen strong group whizzing through Parisian streets on Lime bikes. We boarded the 7am Eurostar from St Pancras with one question: Is cycling in Paris really that good, and how did they pull...
In this episode, London National Park City Ranger Nancy Turner shares the story of how Heston Action Group grew from simple litter picks into a thriving community garden and a wider movement to “green the grey”. Nancy talks about: How the group started, and how volunteering on Sunday mornings helped shape the spaceThe reality of community gardening, big jobs, limited hands, and learning as you goA sustainable drainage planting scheme, and the joy of seeing it thriveNancy’s Ranger project, Poc...
In this New Year episode we’re taking a quick look back at what’s been happening across London National Park City in 2025, from £80,000 redistributed through 112 community projects to a Ranger community now 160+ strong, Then we’ll set your 2026 walking intentions with three Go Jauntly challenges, build towards the London Walking Festival’s big May goal, and open the first page of our book club pick, 52 Ways to Walk by Annabel Streets, including a clip from my interview with Annabel Abbs about...
Recorded live at This is Nature+ at Camley Street Natural Park, this episode brings together London National Park City Ranger Becky Lyon and Imogen Malpas (founder of climate-conscious clubbing collective Club SOL) to explore how we can make contact with nature through everyday culture, sound, and the senses. In this episode What counts as “nature engagement”, and who gets to define itRaves, coffee, sculpture, and other “unexpected” routes into nature connectionTouch, sound, smell, and ...
Recorded live at Camley Street Nature Park, in collaboration with Open Area. Moja Collective founder Shukura Babirye sits down with Ijaz Kato for a warm, honest conversation about how an Instagram page celebrating diverse experiences in nature unexpectedly grew into a monthly walking community - and why slowing down, paying attention and sharing access matters. They explore how Moja Collective’s walks evolved from social hikes into mindfulness-led outdoor experiences, what it means to “lead” ...
What if your phone could help you care for the trees on your street, not just scroll past them In this live conversation – recorded in collaboration with Open Area at Camley Street Nature Park in October 2025 – artist Rachy McEwan and technologist, guerrilla gardener and nature rights campaigner Kalpana Arias explore how art, code and community action can work together to protect and restore urban nature. From felled sycamores behind a London flat to cyber gardens and Tamagotchi-style tree ...
Paula Harvey is building something rare in North London: a permanent outdoor learning and wellbeing space where every family can belong, including SEND families who are too often split apart by inaccessible provision. Through Urban Forest Tribe CIC, she is turning a blank canvas site in N11 into a thriving Forest School home, but she needs support now - funding, materials (especially timber), and volunteers. You can help by donating to the Tribe Roots for Resilience campaign and sharing it wi...
For the first time London National Park City will be showcasing a garden visioned by Rangers and brought to life by celebrated landscape designer Yoni Carnice and contractors Cultivate London and Froglife. During the build week we joined contractors and volunteers who are helping bring together the Aster of The Senses Garden. We interviewed those involved and we'll be sharing some of these conversations during the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival. This is the firth part of this ...
For the first time London National Park City will be showcasing a garden visioned by Rangers and brought to life by celebrated landscape designer Yoni Carnice and contractors Cultivate London and Froglife. During the build week we joined contractors and volunteers who are helping bring together the Aster of The Senses Garden. We interviewed those involved and we'll be sharing some of these conversations during the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival. This is the forth part of this ...
For the first time London National Park City will be showcasing a garden visioned by Rangers and brought to life by celebrated landscape designer Yoni Carnice and contractors Cultivate London and Froglife. During the build week we joined contractors and volunteers who are helping bring together the Aster of The Senses Garden. We interviewed those involved and we'll be sharing some of these conversations during the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival. This is the third part of this ...
For the first time London National Park City will be showcasing a garden visioned by Rangers and brought to life by celebrated landscape designer Yoni Carnice and contractors Cultivate London and Froglife. During the build week we joined contractors and volunteers who are helping bring together the Aster of The Senses Garden. We interviewed those involved and we'll be sharing some of these conversations during the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival. In the second part of this mini...
For the first time London National Park City will be showcasing a garden visioned by Rangers and brought to life by celebrated landscape designer Yoni Carnice and contractors Cultivate London and Froglife. During the build week we joined contractors and volunteers who are helping bring together the Aster of The Senses Garden. We interviewed those involved and we'll be sharing some of these conversations during the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival. This is the first part of this ...
We visited a new pocket park carved out from the Coulsdon South station car park, created to tempt the local cycling group (and everyone else) away from the tarmac and into a greener, friendlier meeting place. What started as “somewhere nicer to wait with a coffee” has grown into an outdoor classroom and community hub: rail-safety learning for Cubs, Scouts, nearby schools and adults with learning needs; a rest spot for commuters, cyclists and ramblers; and a platform for local volunteering. E...























